Junie Shaw and Ela Motte had grown apart over the years. But when Ela is killed in the last months of high school, Junie takes it upon herself to become her oncebest friend and live Ela's life, even if it means giving up her own.

A girl in my class died from complications from a car crash on 5
January this year. The entire week has been emotionally draining and
sad, but many good things have come from it, and this story is one of
them. A few days ago I came up with the idea for this story and decided to start it today, on the day of her burial.

Rest in peace, Crystal
1 June 1989 - 5 January 2007

"Hi, Junie."

I spun around and quickly smiled when I saw who had spoken to me.
Elanor Motte raised her hand and waved at me, a little twiddling
gesture with her fingers before tucking a piece of red-brown hair
behind her ear.

I raised my hand and
waved back at her, quickly dropping my hand as her two blond friends
who straddled her on each side giggled and whispered something to Ela.

Ela laughed along with her friends but looked up at me again, her
glossed lips curled in a sympathetic smile. Back in the
less-complicated days of elementary school, the names Junia and Elanor
had been inseparable. We had been best friends since the first scary
days of kindergarten and our friendship had survived until the last
year of middle school.

Ela was always
the boisterous one and the one who knew what to say to keep any
conversation going. I was the shy one who wasn't a fan of the popular
boy bands. We went our separate ways in eighth grade and stayed that
way for the most part. She always said hello to me in the hallways or
started conversations to ask how I was doing. I wasn't as popular as
her other friends and so she never went in too deep when we talked, but
she was always friendly, much more than her friends were.

It was only two more months until our graduation from high school and I
was ready to get out. College was so much better, everyone told me. You
can be who you want and no one will laugh. There are no popular kids
and everyone is so accepting. I was ready to leave high school since my
junior year.

I was never an outcast. I
held onto a steady group of friends who spawned from many different
groups, but it was obvious that we were below Ela and her friends, but
I didn't care about status. High school had its ups and downs no matter
which social group you were in and you were just lucky if you survived.

I strode out into the crowded parking
lot, searching for my car. The school day had ended ten minutes ago but
the lot was still jammed with cars waiting to get out into the road. I
found my own car and unlocked the door and smiled and waved again at
Ela who walked in front of my car, surprisingly without any of her
friends. She had talked to me that morning during homeroom and had
inquired about what college I was going to.

To State, I had told her

"Really? I am, too! They have a good nursing program that I'm interested in," she said.

I had nodded, remembering that she had always wanted to be a nurse,
ever since elementary school. She loved helping people and it seemed
like the perfect job for her.

I started
up the car's engine and put it into gear, driving under ten miles an
hour, extremely cautious of the crazy teenagers that were honking at
each other, wanting to get out of the lot. My mind wandered from Ela
Motte to the radio which blared my favorite song.

The rest of the day carried on normally and I forgot about Ela. Little
did I know that was the last time I would see her alive.

Slow start and a prologue-ish chapter. It's not going to be depressing, I swear. It just needs an intro.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.